Colours of Ostrava Festival: Ultimate Guide

Colours of Ostrava is a multi-award-winning international festival organised annually in the city of Ostrava in the Czech Republic. This four-day, multi-genre festival dates back to 2002 and currently resides at Dolní Vítkovice, an area that used to belong to metallurgical works, mines and ironworks.

Up until my first visit to the festival in 2023, I’d never heard of Colours of Ostrava. However, I was so incredibly impressed by the calibre of talent performing here and the amazing value for money that I wanted to put together this guide to provide information to anyone looking to attend the festival for the first time.

I had the pleasure of visiting Colours of Ostrava as press on a campaign with the Czech Republic. However, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

What Is Colours of Ostrava?

Colours of Ostrava is a four-day festival that takes place in the third largest city in the Czech Republic, Ostrava. The festival takes place annually in the month of July and typically attracts 45,000 attendees each day from around the world.

Dating back to 2002, the Colours of Ostrava festival focuses on music alongside other art forms, such as theatre, film, visual arts, and discussions on various cultural and social topics. This multidisciplinary approach has contributed to its popularity and widespread acclaim.

Where Is Colours of Ostrava?

Colours of Ostrava takes place at Dolní Vítkovice, in the Czech Republic’s third largest city, Ostrava. When we think of festivals, we often think of wide, open, expansive spaces. However, Colours of Ostrava and Dolní Vítkovice offer something different.

That’s because Dolní Vítkovice is actually in the zone of protected former ironworks, mine and steelworks which were founded back in 1828. As such there are significantly fewer green spaces when compared to other festivals, and more hardcore and paving. This is fantastic if it rains as you don’t get muddy, although your shoes can get a little dusty!

Unlike other festivals, the Dolní Vítkovice site has multiple buildings and indoor spaces that are able to accommodate discussion forums, while the outdoor open spaces are perfect for stages hosting highly-acclaimed musical acts.

How To Get To Colours of Ostrava

There are a number of ways you can get to the city of Ostrava, and subsequently Colours of Ostrava with the best way depending on where you’re travelling from. The most common transport methods are;

• Flights
• Train
• Bus
• Car

During my most recent trip to the Colours of Ostrava festival, I took a combination of three transport methods. I flew from Manchester, England to Prague where I spent a couple of nights before getting a 3-hour train from Prague to Ostrava.

Then going home, I took a one-hour car journey from Ostrava to Katowice in Poland (although buses are available) and then flew from Katowice airport back to Manchester, England.

Despite being the third largest city in the Czech Republic, Ostrava is very easy to navigate and transport is incredibly affordable. As such, travelling around the city, or to and from the festival site to elsewhere in the city is in no way stressful and requires next to no pre-planning.

How Much Does It Cost To Go To Colours of Ostrava?

The cost of attending the Colours of Ostrava festival can be broken down into three main categories;

• Festival tickets
• Accommodation
• Food & Drink

There are a variety of different ways you can experience this festival, so I’ve broken each of these expenses down further so you can get a better understanding of how much it might personally cost you to attend.

Festival Tickets

When it comes to purchasing your Colours of Ostrava festival tickets, there are two options;

• General Admission
• VIP

Four-day general admission tickets for the Colours of Ostrava festival in 2024 are currently priced at €140 per person. These tickets get you entry into the Colours of Ostrava festival and to the Meltingpot discussion forum programme. However, they do not include individual ticketed performances in Gong.

Four-day VIP tickets for the Colours of Ostrava festival in 2024 are currently priced at €479 per person. These tickets get you;

• Entry into the Colours of Ostrava festival and to the Meltingpot discussion forum programme
• Separate entrance with separate accreditation from Ruská Street
• Entrance to the VIP-covered zone
• Special menu with cocktail and wine bars
• Cloakroom, comfortable toilets, charging stations and other additional services
• Opportunity to meet business partners, festival guests or bands
• Gallery overlooking the main stage

However, once again these tickets do not include individual ticketed performances in Gong.

I personally had the VIP ticket, and for me, access to the comfortable toilets (that really were comfortable) and space under the VIP covered zone was well worth the money, especially when it was raining.

However, during my visit to the Colours of Ostrava festival in 2023, the VIP tickets were the only tickets to sell out. As such if you want VIP tickets for Colours of Ostrava 2024, I recommend getting them sooner rather than later.

Accommodation

When it comes to accommodation at the Colours of Ostrava festival you can either choose to camp in one of the campsites or stay in a hotel or vacation rental nearby. There are currently three different campsites available depending on your personal preferences and requirements;

• Camp Slezskoostravský hard
• Chill Village
• Tent Inn Village

Camp Slezskoostravský hard is the main campsite for the Colours of Ostrava festival. This campsite offers spaces for both tents and caravans. In 2023 the price list was as follows;

• 3x3m space for a tent: €22
• Camping ticket: €20
• 9x3m for parking a caravan:

Prices for 2024 have not been released at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, the Chill Village holds several large luxury teepee-style tents that will be set up in the green about 100 meters from the main entrance to the festival grounds. These tents sleep up to four people and typically range from €600 – €800.

Finally, the Tent Inn Village which was new for 2023. These are pre-erected tents in the green area roughly 100m from the main entrance to the festival grounds. There are 500 of these tents available on a first-come, first-served basis with multiple options available including;

• 2-person classic tent: €127
• 3-person classic tent: €169
• 2-person fresh & black tent: €149
• 3-person fresh & black tent: €191

This price covers the tent for the entire festival which makes it both an affordable and convenient way to experience the Colours of Ostrava festival. Meanwhile, in addition to renting the tent, you can also rent a number of accessories including;

• Airbed: €31
• Locker with 2 electrical outlets: €32

Finally, when it comes to hotels and vacation rentals. As you might expect the prices are significantly higher when compared to the rest of the year. This combined with the limited number of ‘good’ options available makes booking your accommodation as far in advance as possible incredibly important.

Food & Drink

Colours of Ostrava is home to some of the best, and most affordable (as far as festivals go) food and drink options. Starting first with the food, you’ll find a number of food trucks scattered across the festival grounds, particularly in the covered area between the main stage and the Bolt Tower.

These food trucks serve a wide range of cuisines, including several vegan and vegetarian options. The food at Colours of Ostrava is incredibly affordable as far as festival food goes. For example, I paid 210CZK (£7.50 / €8.75) for a giant quesadilla that I was unable to finish and 90CZK (£3.20 / €3.75) for a portion of fries with sauce.

Meanwhile, when it comes to drinks you’ll find a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. For example, an Espresso was 55CZK (£2.00 / €2.30) while a can of spirit and mixer, such as rum and coke was 145CZK (£5.00 / €6.00)

The festival grounds were open from 2pm daily, so I’d often find myself having a late evening snack and between 5 to 7 drinks over the course of the 8 to 12 hours I was at the festival. This meant that I was spending 1,000CZK (£35 / €40) per day while at the festival on average, although you can definitely do it cheaper!

Where To Stay For Colours of Ostrava

If you don’t want to camp at Colours of Ostrava then you can stay in either a hotel or vacation rental nearby. Unsurprisingly, prices for accommodation during the festival are significantly higher when compared to other times of the year, and are known to sell out, as such it’s well worth booking in advance.

When it comes to travelling from the festival to your hotel or vacation rental, you can either;

• Drive
• Metro
• Bolt / Uber

Obviously, you can only drive to the festival if you’re not planning on drinking in the day. This combined with parking around the festival being somewhat difficult leaves many deciding between the metro and ridesharing services.

In our case, we went with the ride-sharing service Bolt which I typically find to be cheaper than Uber in cities where it’s available.

Unlike other festivals where you have to walk miles to your car, getting to and from Colours of Ostrava into the city is easy and straightforward. Simply head towards the exit, just by the main stage, and then take a right down towards the petrol station where your driver will collect you.

In total walking from the main stage to the petrol station to meet your driver should take no more than 10 minutes (even after a drink or two… or five…)

Is Colours of Ostrava Suitable For Children, Disabilities & Seniors?

The Colours of Ostrava festival goes above and beyond in creating a welcoming atmosphere and an accessible site for all. In fact, I’ve personally never been to a festival with such incredible accessibility accommodations and campaigns to make the festival inclusive.

Post 2023, Colours of Ostrava reported that more than 4,200 children attended the festival and were able to benefit from the various acts and performances as well as the Science and Technology Centre and the CEZ Family Park and Children’s Stage. Meanwhile, more than 1,200 seniors aged 65+ visited on the Saturday for free.

While I have no disability myself, and didn’t travel with our son Oliver on this occation. I would have no hesitations about bringing my elderly parents who are for the most part wheelchair bound or my son to this festival in the future.

Is Colours of Ostrava Worth It?

Colours of Ostrava is incredible value for money with tickets, accommodation, and food and drink all being very affordable with a lineup of acts that you’d pay double, if not triple to see at a festival elsewhere in Europe. For example, previous speakers and performers at the Colours of Ostrava festival include;

• Lewis Capaldi
• Wim Hof
• The Killers
• Twenty-One Pilots
• Macklemore
• One Republic
• Florence And The Machine
• The Cure
• Rag n Bone Man

This combined with an amazing atmosphere (and amazing Czech beer) makes Colours of Ostrava my new, go-to festival every summer!